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September 19, 2007

An Interview with George Omura, AutoCAD Writer

George Omura (website) is an architect, illustrator, and animator, but he is mostly known for his books. He is a world-renowned author with more than 500,000 books in print, mostly about AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT. The first book I read about AutoCAD, back in 1991, was written by George. Like myself, legions of AutoCAD users learn how to use the popular Autodesk program from the pages of George's books. It is a great honor and pleasure for me to have the opportunity to ask a few questions to George and hear his qualified opinion about a few topics. Here is the interview.

George, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your professional activities?

I’ve been writing AutoCAD books for about 20 years now starting with version 2.5 of AutoCAD

First, let me thank you for inviting me to speak with you. Your site looks great. As you know, I'm the Author of the Mastering AutoCAD series of books published by Sybex, an imprint of Wiley. I also have a book called Introducing AutoCAD which is aimed at the casual AutoCAD user. I’ve been writing AutoCAD books for about 20 years now starting with version 2.5 of AutoCAD. I update my books once a year following the yearly updates that come out of Autodesk. I’m also the IT manager for ELS Architecture and Urban Design in Berkeley California. My role there is really more like a jack-of-all-trades. I do a lot of the PC troubleshooting and I field a lot of questions about all the software we use, not just AutoCAD. It’s a unique opportunity to see how people use computers in their day to day tasks. My role as an IT manager helps me with my writing efforts because I see the issues users face when they encounter something unfamiliar.

You have been writing books about AutoCAD since 1987. How has AutoCAD changed in the last 20 years?

The first version of AutoCAD that I had written about was a toy compared with the AutoCAD of today

It's pretty amazing. The first version of AutoCAD that I had written about was a toy compared with the AutoCAD of today. Still, people were doing some serious work with AutoCAD back then. There were definitely some major limitations, mostly due to the lack of power from the PCs at the time. I remember having to start a process, like regenerating a complex drawing, and then wait several minutes for AutoCAD to finish the job. Another bottleneck was the output. To get large prints of your work, you had to use a pen plotter. These devices took forever to generate a single sheet and users were constantly unclogging pens. Moving into the '90s, thing started to really improve. Processor speeds were taking off and the blueprint-reproduction companies were offering faster printing as a service to CAD users. I think that this is when architects really started to take CAD on the PC seriously. Improvements in the way AutoCAD displayed drawings also made larger projects more feasible. The transition to the Windows OS in the later part of the '90s was a major change for AutoCAD and CAD in general. This was a "make or break” transition for Autodesk I think. There are very few programs around today that have their roots in the old PC-DOS and AutoCAD could have been one of those programs that didn't make it. Autodesk had versions of AutoCAD on Xenix, Unix, Mac OS, and Windows. They even had version 14 on both Windows and DOS. Now AutoCAD is no longer the most power-hungry program on the scene and no one really thinks twice about attempting a large project with AutoCAD. Large format laser plotters are capable of cranking out 5 to 10 large format sheets per second. The problems that arise now are more often due to file format issues.

How have your readers changed in the last 20 years?

in the early days, my readers were from a pretty broad range of users from college students to retirees

That’s a little harder to determine since I don’t have that much direct contact with my readers except for the occasional email question. It seems that in the early days, my readers were from a pretty broad range of users from college students to retirees. Now that AutoCAD is a mainstream program, I’d guess that the balance has tipped to the younger users who are leaning AutoCAD as part of their professional training. There are also the readers who just want to know about the latest features in the newest versions of AutoCAD.

What is your training process when you approach a new program or are writing about a new release of AutoCAD?

I’ve always felt that people need real world examples to work with

I’ve always felt that people need real world examples to work with. In Mastering AutoCAD, I was trying to mimic the process that I found helpful when I was learning AutoCAD. I had some projects that I wanted to draw with AutoCAD so I started with the easier items. From there I built up other parts of drawing while learning more about AutoCAD as I went along. Mastering AutoCAD starts out with a simple door comprised of some lines and an arc. The reader eventually ends up with a floor plan with notes. So basically, I look at how I might learn and use a new program for my own work, then try to convert that process into training material.

Based on your experience, what is your approach when you have to explain a complex concept to your readers?

(explain a complex concept) it’s always helpful to connect a concept to a real world situation

Again, it’s always helpful to connect a concept to a real world situation. I try to start by explaining a complex concept in general terms that are related to something most of would encounter in the real world. For example, when working with AutoCAD 3D, you use the UCS (User Coordinate System) quite a bit. But the UCS is an unusual concept to work with, so I ask the reader to think of the UCS as a drawing surface that can be positioned in any orientation in space. You’re still drawing in 2D but the drawing surface is a 3 dimensional object that can be moved around.

Many amateurs ask us for the best tool to create 3D models similar to the ones they see in magazines, ads, and in online galleries. What would be your answer?

with the new modeling tools in AutoCAD 2007 and 2008, 3D modeling is easier than ever

Being an AutoCAD fan, I tend to promote AutoCAD as a 3D modeling tool. Now with the new modeling tools in AutoCAD 2007 and 2008, 3D modeling is easier than ever and you can create some very realistic 3D scenes. The rendering features in AutoCAD are basically the same as ones you’d find in Autodesk Viz. With the new lighting tools and materials in AutoCAD, you have better control over a rendered scene. Or if you prefer to have a more “loose” looking 3D rendering, you can use the Visual Styles in AutoCAD to give your model a “chipboard” model look. These are great tools and I hope more users get into them.

When you started your career as a writer, books were the major source of information for many CAD users. Now users can access tutorials, online training, discussion forums, etc. on the Internet. What is the role of your books in this new scenario?

people are still seeking out good reference material in the form of books

What surprises me is that along with the expansion of on-line material and user forums, there has also been a huge increase in the number of AutoCAD book titles. This tells me that people are still seeking out good reference material in the form of books. I’d like to think that, in general, readers will continue to use books as a source of knowledge. Having said that, there are some really excellent on-line tutorials out there and they can really help users get up to speed fast. But we aren’t always able to get to the on-line resources we need. Once you have a book, it’s always there and available. With a book, you don’t even have to be at your computer. You may have a question pop into you mind and you can have an answer by referring to a book rather than having to fire up your PC, logging in, and searching the internet. You don’t have to wait for complex pages to open or for video files to load. It’s ironic, but a lot of the time, you can get an answer to your question faster using a book.

What's the name of your latest book and what is it about?

I've got two new books

I've got two new books. They are "Mastering AutoCAD 2008 and AutoCAD LT 2008" and "Introducing AutoCAD 2008", both published by Sybex, an imprint of Wiley. Mastering is the do-it-all book covering nearly every aspect of AutoCAD in detail. It is intended for beginners and intermediate users who need to know AutoCAD inside-out. I'm especially pleased with the 3D portion of the book since 3D modeling has always been an area that I'm especially fond of, but the rest of the book also is pretty good too, if I say so myself! "Introducing AutoCAD 2008" is the latest revised version of "Just Enough AutoCAD 2007". My publisher decided that it needed a name change to fit in with their "Introducing" series of books. A lot of AutoCAD users don't want or need to be power users. They just want to be able to perform some basic tasks in AutoCAD with the minimum amount of training. "Introducing AutoCAD 2008" was written for the user that has to be up and running with AutoCAD quickly but doesn't have to know every detail of the program.

I would like to thank George Omura for sharing his time to do this interview. If you have any questions for George or for Novedge, please leave a comment below and we will be glad to answer.

Comments

Hello Babourcarr Jeng... You're asking a difficult question! I don't know what architecture is like in Gambia, but here in the states, it is a profession that requires quiet a commitment. Also, don't expect to become rich. My advice would be to take a close, hard look at what an architect really does day to day and then ask yourself if that is what you really want to do. Architects must wear many hats as the expression goes. Quite often, designing buildings is just a small part of what you are called upon to do. I hope that I don't sound too negative about the profession. It can be very rewarding, but often people are drawn to architecture without understanding what being an architect really means. I hope this very brief answer will nudge you in the right direction. And I wish you the best of luck in your professional pursuits!

my name is Baboucarr Jeng and i live in The Gambia, a small country in west africa. i am an IT as well as an architectural student. i bought your mastering autocad 2006 version and it was more than helpful. i recently tried to buy your mastering autocad 2008, but got your introduction to autocad 2008 which i am currently trying to use, pending the arrival of the mastering autocad 2008. i want to pursue a career in architecture, what is your advice master???

Hello Paul, I have to answer your question with “that depends”. Someone who is very comfortable with using the computer and Windows could gain a lot from using my Mastering Viz 4 book even if they are trying to learn a later version. Of course, you are likely run into situations where the book’s instructions do not work. You’ll just have to be willing to find your way around on your own when this happens. If you are a complete novice with a computer and with CAD software, then I’d urge you to try to get the latest Viz book if you can. You might also try using the tutorials that come with the Viz 2008 software in conjunction with the book you currently have. Perhaps with those two resources, you can start to build your skills.

Hi Mr. Omura, I'm Paul MArtin, an Architect from the Philippines, I have a copy of your book Mastering Autodesk Viz 4, I had this book for some time, and would like to use it for reference, would it be wise to use this book for a program for viz 2008? i would value your coment because I want to value this book because I cant afford to buy a new one, please advise. Thank you

In response to Donato Mangialardo's comment... I think Hugh just means that with electronic media, you usually use a search tool that requires fairly specific input, like a word or phrase that you are looking for. The ubiquitous Search tool is great for finding very specific information like a “needle in a haystack”, but it is useless if you want to just browse through an electronic document. You can't ask a search engine to "show me something interesting" - Well maybe with the exception of Googles "I'm Feeling Lucky" button. Books are much easier to browse through and you can get a better sense of what a book is about by picking random pages and reading a few passages. Electronic media seems a little less accessible in that regard.

I imagine that in the near future, we'll see some innovative new tool in electronic media that will bring us closer to that book experience. I'm not anti-emedia at all and I wish that my publisher would produce my book in an electronic format in conjunction with the physical book. I guess I'm also a bit old fashioned too in that I like the feel of a book in hand with pages I can turn manually.

I am sorry but I cannot really understand the comment "electronic media it works best if you have an idea what you are looking for". What electronic media do you use? Maybe there is an opportunity in thinking of new search capabilities across diverse, unstructured multimedia materials?

That said, the pleasure to browse a well done book is just unique and does help stumbling across helpful information -- especially when you have time for that.

With electronic media it works best if you have an idea what you are looking for. With Mr. Omuras' books I stumble across very useful information that I was not even looking for. Thank you Mr. Omura you have been a great help for a long time.

In addition to George's response about the best tool to create professional 3D models it is advisable to use predrawn libraries of parts (ie http://www.herculedesign.com). These will dramatically increase the amount of work that you produce.

Regarding the comment about finding anything faster... Yeah, I certainly agree that you can do a search much faster with electronic media. My point is that you aren't always at a computer to do that search. Besides, I see people using books all the time where I work, even when they are at their computers, so I'd guess that speed isn't the only thing people are looking for when it comes to reference material.

Mmhh...I very seriously doubt you can find anything faster by using a book rather than a PC I am sure this is true and demonstrable on a few circumstances; but, overall, electronic manuals - although still a somewhat primitive learning tool - are way, way faster than any paper book.